Jessie: Can you say something-.. like, are you okay?
[Ivan buried his head in hands and squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to say something-.. he wanted to say a million things, but his voice had long since abandoned him]
Jessie: I wasn’t sure what to do at first, y’know-.. but by the time I tried to find you, I couldn’t.
[Ivan offered a muffled scoff]
Jessie: You were never at home! I didn’t have your number, Hunter went back to prison, Clara moved-.. I really tried.
Jessie: I even thought Miya might know where you’d gone but I never saw her again-.. Lucie’s closed, the Front closed… I figured it was all connected to what was going on in the news.
Ivan: So, y’gave up?
Jessie: Not exactly, I spent hours scouring dating apps, social media-…
Ivan: It’d help if y’got my fuckin’ name right.
Jessie: I’m bad with names, okay-.. and how was I supposed to know you were a family man, rather than a crook?
Ivan: I s’pose it’s a long story…
[Jessie snorted, wiping her eyes with her sleeve]
Ivan: I’m sorry, I’m just-.. it’s a lot t’take in is all. I’m pretty gutted I’ve missed so much.
Jessie: Really?
Ivan: ‘Course! That’s my lil’ guy, ain’t it?
Jessie: I didn’t think you’d care.
Ivan: That’s a bit presumptuous-.. y’don’t even know me.
Jessie: Maybe it was just easier to think that way.
Ivan: I’ll give y’that…
Jessie: He’ll be so excited to know he has a daddy now; he’s forever asking questions about him.
[Ivan couldn’t help but smile, he wasn’t sure he’d ever have kids, and now he suddenly had two]
Jessie: I don’t expect child support, by the way. Like, I have a good job n’ stuff, and my mom’s pretty well off too-.. she lives nearby, actually.
Ivan: Eh, we’ll figure somethin’ out…
Jessie: So, what now?
Ivan: S’pose we oughta get t’know each other?
Jessie: Is the little girl-…
Ivan: Mine? Yeah.
Jessie: Uhm…
Ivan: Surrogate.
Jessie: Ah.
[Ivan tried his best not to tear up as Jude hurtled towards them, smiling the same goofy smile he’d seen in dozens of his own childhood photographs]
Jessie: C’mere-.. I’ve got a huge surprise for you!
[Ivan’s brow shot up; he thought Jessie would’ve wanted to explain the situation to Jude later-.. or in private, but he didn’t seem too phased by the news]
Jude: You’re my daddy?
Ivan: Sure looks like it, bud.
Jude: [gasps] Does that mean I have a doggy?!
Jessie: He’s obsessed with dogs, probably because we can’t have one…
Ivan: [chuckles] Aye, me n’ Oreo are a package deal.
Jessie: We’ll see Oreo again soon-.. c’mon, we’re already way past late.
[Jude frowns briefly. He’d rather stay here, but school was exciting too, and he knew better than to argue]
Jessie: I’ll call you later, yeah?
Ivan: Please…
Jude: Bye Oreo, bye daddy, bye-.. man and baby!
…
Ivan: The fuck just happened, B?
[Bruno held Ivan closely, leaving his rhetorical question unanswered]
Ivan: I swear I ain’t cheated on you, I-…
Bruno: I know.
Ivan: But-…
Bruno: He’s too old for that-.. I know.
[Ivan stared at the floor, his mind moving too fast for him to keep up. He wanted to yell, laugh and weep all at once]
Bruno: Let’s go home. We’ll take the day off, okay?
[Ivan nodded as Bruno nudged him to his feet, forever grateful for his ridiculously calm demeanour]